National Awareness Campaigns for Kids in May

Several important children’s health observances occur in May. Here’s a partial list, with related data from kidsdata.org noted alongside:

National Foster Care Awareness Month

• The rate of CA first entries into foster care have declined steadily over a 10-year period.

National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

• The teen birth rate dropped significantly from 1995 to 2007, the latest year for which data are available. Hispanics/Latinas had the highest teen birth rate in CA for 2007, 35% higher than the next highest racial/ethnic group, African-Americans.

National Physical Fitness and Sports Month

• The percent of California’s 7^th-grade students meeting all fitness standards increased from 23% in 1999 to 33% in 2008.

National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month

• Between 2000-2008, the CA asthma hospitalization rate for infants 0-4 years old decreased by 38 percent.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

• Over a 5-year period from 2004 to 2009, Pacific Islander students have steadily improved their Algebra I CST proficiency scores.
• Among racial/ethnic groups for which data are available, Asian Americans in 9^th grade fare the best on the measure of students with healthy weight. See data for all racial/ethnic groups, including Pacific Islanders.

Some Weekly Observances in May:

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week – 5/2 – 5/8

Food Allergy Awareness Week – 5/9 – 5/15

Alcohol and Other Drug-Related Birth Defects Awareness Week – 5/9 – 5/15

Tags: Health Observances

Posted by kidsdata.org

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